Suspension sleeve for snood swivels and material for such a suspension sleeve

ABSTRACT

A suspension sleeve for snood swivels, arranged to be installed around a fishing line and to rotate about the line&#39;s longitudinal axis. The sleeve (10) is made of a rectangular plate and has two end areas (2, 3) which are facing each other, considered in the sleeve&#39;s (10) circumference direction, and which have respective engagement sections (4, 20) which are arranged for releasable, firm connection with each other. One end area (2) comprises a support section (6) for an eye of the snood swivel.

The invention relates to a suspension sleeve for snood swivels,comprising an annular rectangular metal plate for rotating around thelongitudinal axis of a fishing line, said annular plate having twofacing end areas. The invention further relates to a method of making asuch suspension sleeve.

Suspension sleeves of this type are known from e.g. WO92/01372 and areused in order to prevent the snoods from becoming tangled on the tautfishing line and to reduce the length of the freely suspended section ofthe snoods, thus making it easy for the fish which have been caught todisengage themselves.

In order to restrict the movement of the suspension sleeve along theline a stop ring is shrunk on to the line on each side of the suspensionsleeve. Alternatively, in other prior art, a sliding sleeve withenlarged end sections has been moulded on to the line to form a slidingbearing for a plate curved around the sliding sleeve's central section,and which thus constitutes a suspension sleeve able to rotate easily andwithout the risk of its causing wear on the line, but the enlarged endsections of the sliding sleeve restricting the suspension sleeves'movement along the line.

The suspension sleeves, hereinafter called the sleeves, are made of arectangular metal plate which is bent into an annular shape. In order tosecure the swivel, a central section of the annular plate can have aradially outwardly projecting, approximately spherical segment shapedsection, wherein there is provided a central slot which extends parallelto the ring's longitudinal axis. However the ductility of the materialof which the plate is made is usually low. Consequently the maximumheight of the spherical segment section is limited.

In this design of sleeves the swivel can be made of a piece of metalwire, whose thickness is slightly less than the width of the slot. Oneend section of the metal wire is composed of a straight neck sectionwhich ends in an enlarged section or a head and the other end section ofthe metal wire is bent in a plane in into the shape of a hook, thehead's diameter being smaller than the spherical segment section'sheight.

Before the plate is curved into an annular shape around the line or thesliding sleeve, the swivel is threaded through the slot until only thehead is located inside the spherical segment and the head abuts againstit, whereafter the plate is bent around the line or the sliding sleeve.The head of the swivel is thus enclosed with clearance between thesleeve and the line or sliding sleeve, and can be moved in the raisedsection, its neck section protruding out through the slot.

When the snood is under a heavy lead, the sleeve may work loose from theline, the bending moment which is exerted against the sleeve causing oneor both end sections of the plate of which it is made to become bentradially outwards, thus causing the opening or split between the endsections to become larger than the diameter of the line or the slidingsleeve.

When the line is hauled in it pulled on board successively by means of adriven wheel with a circumferential, radially outwardly open groove witha V-shaped cross section, in which groove a section of the line is firstplaced and clamped. When the wheel rotates the line becomes moresecurely clamped the greater the tension in the line.

The width of the track at the opening is smaller than the externaldiameter of the sleeves. When the line is hauled in, those sleeves whichare attached to the section of the line which is located at the drivingwheel will thus be made to abut against the edges of the groove'sopening, as the adjacent line sections attempt to pull the sleevesradially inwards on the wheel.

During the preparations for renewed fitting the line and the snoodsreceive separate treatment. For this reason the sleeves are rotated,thus causing the swivels to turn radially outwards in relation to thewheel. At the same time the sleeves and the swivels are pushed towardsthe periphery of the wheel and the swivels attempt to move into aposition in which they extend tangentially in relation to thefirst-mentioned wheel by means of a second wheel.

Due to the limited height which can be reached by the spherical segmentof the sleeve, the possibility may arise that the swivel cannot be movedfreely right up up to the position in which it extends tangentially, butthat the neck section of the swivel, which is located near the head andin the slot, abuts against the edge of the slot during this movement,and that the neck section thereafter becomes bent, so that at least theremaining section of the swivel achieves the tangential position.

In this case this bending can be so great that the swivel breaks.

The object of the invention is to provide a sleeve of the type mentionedin the introduction which is not encumbered by the above-mentioneddisadvantages.

The characteristics of the sleeve according to the invention are evidentfrom the features presented in the claims presented.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to thedrawing which schematically illustrates an embodiment of a sleeveaccording to the invention.

FIG. 1 is a view of a sleeve in an unfolded condition.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sleeve which has been formed by meansof bending at an angle and partially curving the plate shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sleeve which has been formed by meansof completely curving the plate shown in FIG. 1, and where the plate'send sections are connected to each other.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the sleeve illustrated in FIG. 3 and a swivelwhich is connected to the sleeve.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the sleeve and swivel illustrated in FIG. 4,the sleeve being installed on a line with two stops for the sleeve andthe swivel has been rotated by 90° C.

FIG. 1 shows a rectangular plate 1 which after curving to form anannular or sleeve shape forms a suspension sleeve 10 of the typementioned in the introduction.

The plate 1 has a first and a second end area 2 and 3 which aftercurving of the plate to form an annular shape are facing each otherconsidered in the ring's circumference direction.

The first end area 2 of the plate 1 has a tongue 4 with a tip section 5and a root section 6. The width of the tip section 5 is less than thewidth of the root section 6, its outer area, i.e. that which faces thetip section, constituting a shoulder 7.

In its turn the width of the root section 6 is less than the width ofthe central area 8 of the plate which is located between the end areas,this width of the root section 6 also being less than the internaldiameter of the eye 15 of a swivel 16, by means of which a snood can beconnected to the sleeve 10.

The second end area 3 of the plate 1 has an end section 20 with athrough-going hole 21, whose cross section which extends in the plateplane, is slightly larger than the cross section of the tongue tipsection 5. As in the case of the tongue root section 6 the width of theend section 20 is less than the width of the plate's central section 8.

Before installation of the sleeve 10 on a line 17, the end section 20and the tongue 4 are first bent at right angles in such a manner thatthey point the same way in relation to the central section 8, whereafteran outer area of the root section 6, i.e. an area which is located closeto the tip section 5 is bent by 90°, in such a manner that it pointsaway from the second end area.

Thereafter that section of the plate 8 which is located between the endsections 2, 3 is curved about an axis which extends parallel to theplate's transversal axis, and into an approximately annular shape asillustrated in FIG. 2, where the end areas 2, 3 are located so far fromeach other that the opening between the end sections is only slightlylarger than the diameter of the line. Plates formed in this way aresuitable for use as blanks which can be supplied to users, whothemselves wish to install these on their fishing lines. Thereafter theline is inserted through the opening and the eye 15 of the swivel isthreaded into the outer section of the tongue root section 6. Finallythe end sections 2, 3 are pushed towards each other, thus giving theplate a completely annular shape, the tip section 5 hereby beingthreaded into the hole 21 until the shoulder 7 abuts against one side ofthe end section 20, whereafter that section of the tip section whichprojects out of the hole 21 on the other side of the end section 20 isradially bent at an angle inwards until its fiat side abuts against theend section 20, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Thus the tongue 4 with the tip section 5, and the end section 20 withthe hole 21, constitute engagement sections, whereby the end sections 2,3 of the annular plate 1 can be firmly connected to each other, thusforming a sleeve which grips the line round its entire circumference.

When a force is exerted against the sleeve via the swivel, maximumbending moments are generated in it, which are considerably less thanthe maximum bending moments generated in the previously known,above-mentioned split sleeve, which is also made of a curved plate, butwhose mutually facing end areas are not firmly connected to each other.

Thus the sleeve according to the invention can firstly be made of athinner plate, and secondly there is no risk of the sleeve being pulledoff the line due to the end sections being moved away from each other.

Since the sleeve section which is arranged to connect with the swivel isnot constituting of a recess in the plate which is formed by, e.g.,stamping, and whose maximum height is extremely limited and dependent onthe ductility of the plate material, but of unbent plate pieces whichare located between bent plate sections, a sleeve section is obtained ofsuch a nature that it permits the swivel to be rotated in such a mannerthat its longitudinal axis extends in the desired direction in relationto the sleeve's longitudinal axis. e.g. parallel to it, as illustratedin FIG. 5. This figure also illustrates that on each side of thesuspension sleeve there are provided stops 18 which are attached to theline and restrict the suspension sleeve's movement along the line.

The graduation of the tongue root section and the end section inrelation to the plate's central section results amongst other things inthese sections being bent away from the plane for adjacent areas of thecentral area in the desired location, since the maximum bending stresseswill occur at just those graduated locations. For this purpose the platecan also be graduated between the radially extending section and thetangentially extending section of the tongue root, as indicated by thedotted lines in FIG. 1.

It is stated above that the tongue tip section 5 is bent radiallyinwards at an angle until it abuts against the end section 20, sincethis bent section is thus unlikely to be able to come into undesirablecontact with extraneous bodies such as the snood or the like. However,the tongue tip section 5 can instead be bent radially outwards, whichwill possibly be a better way of preventing the tongue tip section frombeing pulled out of the hole 21 when the snood is heavily loaded.

We claim:
 1. A suspension sleeve for snood swivels, comprising anannular rectangular metal plate, for rotating around the longitudinalaxis of a fishing line said annular plate having two facing end areas,characterized in that,said end areas have respective first and secondengagement sections which are firmly connected with each other, thefirst engagement section is a tongue composed of a root section and atip section, the lateral width of said tip section is reduced inrelation to the lateral width of said root section so that anintermediate shoulder is formed, and the second engagement sectioncomprises an opening through which said tip section of said firstengagement section is loosely fitted, until said shoulder abuts againstsaid opening.
 2. A method of making a suspension sleeve for snoodswivels which comprises providing a blank made of a substantiallyrectangular metal plate having two end areas,comprising respective firstand second engagement sections the first engagement section is a tonguecomposed of root section and a tip section, the lateral width of saidtip section is reduced in relation to the lateral width of said rootsection to define an intermediate shoulder, and the second engagementsection comprises an opening, and forming the blank into a suspensionsleeve by bending the blank into a curve until the end areas are at adistance apart which corresponds to the diameter of a fishing line,bending the end areas at like angles to the blank, locating the blankover the fishing line, fitting the eye of a swivel onto said rootsection, fitting said tip section through said opening until saidshoulder abuts against said opening and said tip section projectsthrough said opening, then bending a protruding portion of the tipsection to prevent the tip section from being withdrawn from theopening.